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202 whose chiefs lead alternately according to the season. This is quite conspicuous in the Mississippi Valley, whence it extends into Mexico, and has its counterparts in Peru. The mere social cleavage into two parts, or moieties, we have considered elsewhere (p. 159), but, like certain other social traits, this, also, has its ceremonial associations which greatly expand the complex. These mythical and religious concepts offer a fine field for further study. We have here but mentioned a few of the best known, but for no one of them can so much as a complete distribution be stated. The whole subject of mythical thought, philosophical and religious conceptions as a New World contribution to man's history is still before us.

UNITY OF NEW WORLD CULTURE

Our initial task, a general review of the most important traits of culture for the various native social units of the New World is now finished. The one striking suggestion is that notwithstanding the great diversity we have found, there are, on every hand, the unmistakable signs of unity. The higher cultures of Mexico and Peru are, after all, merely the great centers where the fundamental elements in New World culture were full blown. Thus, we found that agriculture, metal work, ceramics, architecture, and sculpture, all centered there. In addition, there were a number of specific instances of miscellaneous traits that radiated from these centers. Confronted as we are by the undeniable evidences for the local diffusion of culture traits in all parts of both continents, it would be difficult to conceive of the existence of these virile centers in entire isolation.

But passing on to less material traits, we find even stronger claims to unity of culture. Thus, society itself was almost everywhere composed of the same kind of units, whose conceptions of property and political rights were the same. Ritualism, priestcraft, and shamanism, mythological conceptions, and religious attitudes also show many specific cases of uniformity. Hence, we are fully justified in regarding the New World as one distinct culture province. These considerations, however, lead us into problems best deferred to the end of this work.